| ***Notice 3/23/2008*** I am currently investigating the facts referred to in the article linked to at theamericanscratchpad.blogspot.com. I have reason to believe that the numbers don’t even accurately reflect the report cited. You can investigate as well starting at: factcheck.org & about.com. |
Honestly, I cringe at the thought of analyzing America’s losses in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have not lost a loved one in the conflict. I cannot imagine what that would be like. Every single soldier lost is a tragedy. All who will suffer with their wounds need to be remembered.
I feel the same way whenever I hear talk about “acceptable collateral damage.” There is no acceptable number of civilian deaths to me. Having said that, I understand why in a war there needs to be practical discussion of such things but I always try and remember the human tragedies involved.
One blogger has pointed out that relatively speaking it hasn’t been as bad in terms of casualties as the media paints it out to be. It is an interesting perspective. If you have lost a loved one I don’t think it will be much comfort to you. I only consider these things as I evaluate the accuracy of what I hear.
I have fallen asleep with tears more than once over the tragedy of young men dying in Iraq. My prayer is that the soldiers can come home soon. My fear is that they may be there for a while yet out of a true necessity.
Here is a quote from The American Scratchpad:
The point here is that our mainstream media continues to spin these figures (for liberal political gain). Nothing more…its all about politics and the libs are famous for turning American against American for a vote. (These statistics are published by Congressional Research Service, and they may be confirmed by anyone at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf) Now ask yourself two questions:
“Why does the mainstream Print and TV Media never print statistics like these?”
and
“Why do the mainstream media hate the (world wide) web as much as they do?”Ensure you do your homework before you place your vote. Because the media does their own, and they know how to manipulate those who don’t.
Little long – edit if you gotta. Where’s that discussion area?
Comes right out swingin’ don’t he? Why doesn’t he go ahead and call us on the other rotten stuff we Liberals do, like roast a conservative child on Earth Day? Jeez Jon – do you really believe this guy? You’re smarter than that.
Yes yes – Liberal Media â„¢ bias. Thank god there are a few lonely conservative voices crying in the wilderness, Like Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, O’reilly, Liddy, Malkin, Coulter, Kristol, until recently Buckley (a gentleman that I enjoyed BTW – the current hacks should take lessons), Rupert Murdoch and the entire Fox news empire, National Review, The Weekly Standard, American Conservative magazine, the Heritage Foundation, etc. etc. etc. Just those few voices against Michael Moore and the guy who did Stewart Smalley on Saturday Night Live. How shall the truth ever get through?
Your guy says: “”The point here is that our mainstream media continues to spin these figures (for liberal political gain). Nothing more…its all about politics and the libs are famous for turning American against American for a vote.”” Ok,,,
Then he points out that during Clinton’s 8 years we lost 14,000 people – proving of course that Slick Willy was no darn good, just like Rush says. He only listed 3 or St. Reagans 8 years in office, so I guess nobody died then huh? Let’s check that government report… WHOA – 17,209 military deaths during St. Ronnies 2 terms?!?! That’s more than Clinton’s! Why would he leave that out?
So your guy cherrypicks the numbers he likes from a government report, with clear intention to mislead, and in the same blog post he takes shots at “Liberals” for “” spin(ning) these figures (for liberal political gain)””. You’re digging the hypocrisy here, right?
Now – here’s what happened with the casualty numbers, based on my own experience as a vet and a careful reading of the numbers in this report:
Number of servicemembers peaked in 1988 at 2.31 Million people – the current number is down to 1.66 Million. Less people = less accidents/suicides/medical deaths etc. So there’s some…
Deaths due to accidents:
Worst year, 1980 – 1556 people
best year, 2000 – 398 people (Clinton year BTW, I’m just saying,,,).
I was in the Navy from 85 to 89, and I can tell you that we thought drunk driving was a competitive event. We bragged about not remembering how we got home. As time went on, military safety officers got more authoritative, training got better, punishment for DUI got stricter etc. etc. So there’s some more…
Illness, worst year 1981 – 457 people.
Best year 1998 – 26 people (another Clinton year BTW). Hey, medical care is getting better, it’s a good thing.
Suicide, worst year 1988 – 285 people.
Best year, 2001 – 140 people. I was in the military in 1988, and I can tell you that the pay was awful. At that time I was a married E5 with a wife and a child, and my takehome pay was $1,100 a month. Try to feed a family on $1,100 a month in a Navy town where the average apartment rents for $450… Pay is up, bonuses and benefits are up, and I’d say that’s got a lot to do with the suicide rate going down.
Anywho – the premise is specious. Basically the guy’s saying “We’re giving them better medical care now, and we’re doing a better job with the accident prevention – so it’s Ok if we get 2 a day killed in a war of choice with no clear purpose or goal”. Do you agree with that statement?
I could go on, but I’m out of room. I think there’s an old proverb about becoming what you hate, and this guy’s way down that road. Your blogger is interesting Jon, you’re a better writer and clearer thinker than he is, so don’t go changin’. Thanks for sharing.